Rate My Professor Pauline Dawson

Dr Pauline Dawson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Faculty of Medicine. A registered midwife with qualifications including RM, BMid, MMid, and PhD, she is a practising clinician whose work centres on improving outcomes and experiences for families through their childbearing journey, with a strong emphasis on equity. Her PhD examined the barriers to equitable maternal health in Aotearoa New Zealand, and her master's thesis explored birth place choices made in Southern Aotearoa, particularly by those in rural areas. Pauline brings experience in large dataset analysis, inferential modelling, adherence to data sovereignty principles and ethics, as well as Foucauldian analysis of healthcare and data. She maintains her practising certificate through educational roles and community midwifery practice.

Pauline's research specializations include health equity, social determinants of health, health geography, and rural maternity care, with expertise in maternity health equity, midwifery, and health inequalities. She has authored or co-authored key publications such as 'The first trimester abortion journey Aotearoa: health practitioners' perspectives' (2024, New Zealand Medical Journal), 'Feasibility of software prompts to support antenatal vaccination decision-making: A cross-sectional study' (2025, Health Education Journal), 'The journey of people accessing first trimester abortion in Aotearoa New Zealand: health consumers' perspectives' (2025, Journal of Primary Health Care), and contributions to the 'Sixteenth annual report of the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee' (2024). As convener of ALM6 and trainee intern year in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, she teaches throughout the MBChB programme and the Postgraduate Diploma in Obstetrics and Medical Gynaecology (PGDipOMG). Pauline is a member of the New Zealand College of Midwives and the Perinatal Society of New Zealand, and serves on the Editorial Board of the New Zealand College of Midwives Journal.